Vice-President Ansari to inaugurate 4th NE Business Summit today

Guwahati, Sept 15 : Vice President Hamid Ansari will inaugurate the 4th North East Business Summit here today.

The two-day summit is being organised by the Department of North East Region, DoNER in collaboration with the Indian Chamber of Commerce, ICC, Kolkata.

The main objective of the summit is to showcase the potential of the NE States and to promote private sector investments.

The fourth summit will primarily focus on sectors such as tourism, food processing, power, infrastructure, information technology, handloom and cottage industries especially in the context of the Look East Policy on trade and investment linkages with ASEAN and SAARC countries.

A special session on "North East on Fast Track - Building International Partnership" with special reference to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia and Philippines to discuss mutual cooperation will be the main attraction of the Summit.

Governors and Chief Ministers of all NE States are likely to attend. Eight foreign Ambassadors and about 50 foreign delegates will attend the event.

More than 200 private participants from North East region and near about 175 outside the North East region will also participate in the event.

The highlights of the summit include Chief Minister's Conclave, International Session with Minister of Commerce of Cambodia, Ambassadors from Thailand, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Czech Republic, Arab League and Bhutan, Special Thai Investment Session, specific sessions on infrastructure, agro and food processing, tourism, IT and skill development, one-to-one discussions among prospective investors (both from Northeast and foreign), banks, government officials, and corporate representatives, State Government investment hubs and an exhibition-showcasing Northeast.

The summit has been brought closer to the people and the Governments in the North East. It is expected that the Summit will focus the problems of the region with greater emphasis and try to find an integrated development programme in line with the "VISION 2020" document released by the Prime Minister recently.

This year, emphasis has been given on the trade and economic relations of the North East with the neighbours with a focus on the ASEAN countries.